How do you find out what qualifies for AG exemption ?

I went the the Fort Bend County appraisal district.

Your county CAD.

X2.... every county is just a little bit different.
However, if I was buying land I would never never look at one that was not already AG exempt. If I owned land
that was not and planed on keeping it, I would start the process as soon as possible to get it that way. I do
know that it takes 5 years in Texas to become AG exempt. And to become wildlife exempt, you have to
be AG exempt first.

Ag valuation, not exemption. You still have to pay.

As an example, my good friend and neighbor has 100 acres next to us, with no ag valuation. His taxes are over $9000 a year.

Doesn't it "exempt" a portion of the valuation from when taxes are calculated? I've always heard and used the term "Ag exemption" but maybe I'm wrong.

Your taxes are based on the value of the land from a production stand point rather than market value. Basically valued from an income approach as opposed to a sales approach.

Debating weather to call it ag exemption or ag valuation is just stupid and wasting time, we all know what it is.


Talk to your local county appraisal district, some are much more lax than others. Some will make you have 5 years of history some are not nearly as picky.

Google "Texas Comptroller Guidelines for Qualification of Agricultural Land in Wildlife Management Use", for future reference, in case you're interested in a Wildlife valuation.

If we don't argue minutiae, this place will die!

I agree with both of you.

X 3 or 4 or whatever we're up to now.


What the state says about it ---> Tx Comptroller

Each county can and frequently do set their own guidelines for qualifications. You have to check with the county CAD.

Mr. T and I differ slightly on one point, buying a property from an owner/seller that did not maintain or lost their 1-d or 1-d-1 valuation can be used as a price bargaining tool.
I've done it a couple times in cases where it made sense.
In some counties or areas it will never make financial sense to return the land to an Ag valuation.




Not really, in my opinion.
Folks are always getting Ag/timber sales tax exemption (a true tax exemption), confused with Agriculture, Timberland & Wildlife special appraisal for county property tax.
One is an actual tax exemption, the other a special appraisal / valuation based on the properties use.

True, some counties are not as strict as others.

Mr T and Rustler both make good points, although very different, on buying property that has "lost" ag valuation.

A bit of a process perspective - when I purchased my property, with the transfer of ownership, the CAD required that I submit a request for continued Ag valuation. In that document I had to detail prior usage (even though it was the former owner, and was under 1-d-1 use) for at least 5 of the 7 preceding years. In my case it was cattle and I had to get info from the former owner on how many head he had run for each of those years and include this in the docs I submitted. Not sure if a CAD might ever require additional proof, but it is my understanding that if they play hardball on this, and usage can not be proven, the buyer could be assessed the difference, plus any penalties, for the taxes on the preceding 5 years.

To that point, a year or two later, I considered buying another small piece of land across the road and about 1/4 mile south, to add to my place. While it too had 1-d-1 valuation, there was no sign of ag usage, and no fencing on two sides. In my opinion, there would have been no possibility of PROVING that ag activity had taken place on this property and I very well (again, as the buyer) could have been held responsible for the past taxes on the property. As Mr. T noted, I could have used this in negotiations, but I just did not want to go through that much heartburn for something that was going to require a bunch of work (and possible expense) to make the addition feasible.

My point - do your own research and every piece of property is unique, but a buyer needs to be very aware of the ramifications when purchasing land that may not have met the standards of 1-d-1 usage.

If it didn't save you a boat load on taxes nobody would care about it. Got to the appraisal district or damn near anywhere and call it either one and anyone will know exactly what your talking about.

I get it, you like to argue about everything.

Going by your logic, go dang near anywhere like a tractor dealer or farm & ranch store when they ask if you're Ag exempt you say yes because you have 1-d or 1-d-1 valuation on your property.
And when the CAD is trying to determine or questions your property tax status you just fill out the paper & show em your actual Tx Ag/Timber exemption card to qualify your property for the 1-d / 1-d-1 tax valuation.
Neither works that way.

All I meant by my response you quoted was - they are two different things that are very often confused.

I've been accused of liking to argue before and its probably true. Seems you stepped yourself into so maybe you shouldn't cast stones in a glass house.

Thanks for all the tips fellas

I always thought the AG appraisal was based on the property, but that's not the case. I have heard in Ellis and Kaufman properties that its more based on the individual. People buying 10-20 acres that has been ag appraised forever. Now the new owners want to start raising cattle but the CAD wont give ag appraisal because that person hasn't been involved in AG production. That tells me its based on the person, not the land.

I have never heard of something like that happening, but it would be very interesting if that is the case.

The appraisal district and the IRS try not to subsidize "hobby" farms. You must show that you are making a legitimate effort from a business standpoint to justify the tax advantages afforded to Ag acreage. From this standpoint I guess you could say they do evaluate the individuals effort. An appraisal district appraiser asked a friend of mine to show his tax return during his application process for AG status. He wanted to see the revenues and expenses on the schedule F of the return.

You hear a lot of things, always best to go straight to the source for accurate info.

---> Ellis CAD ~/~ Ellis FAQ
---> Kaufman CAD

Many counties around & near to big cities have been cracking down on iffy claims of Ag use for several years.
Every county has guidelines & qualifications for legitimate 1-d / 1-d-1 appraisal, each can & often do formulate their own as long as it falls within State requirements.
They can be more strict but no more lax.

What the state says about it ---> Tx comptroller property tax ag/timber

When Ag status is questioned providing a copy of schedule F is common, it is the fast & easy way to supply proof, it is not the only way.

Somebody's letting a little bit of power go completely to their head. I'd ask a tax attorney on that one. Bureaucrats.

Here they come out and look at your operation. Look at fences, water source etc. Look and see if there has actually been livestock or what ever on the place. If you lease they want to get it verified from the person that leases it. The last time I leased from a neighbor the CAD came out. I showed them around the property and explained the operation. Don't blow smoke up their rears and if you are actually doing what needs to be done there should not be a problem. Another neighbor I leased from had not had an AG Exemption and it took him 5 years to get it with me running cows on it for that amount of time.